The Giant Butt Plug of Paris is No More

After shocking much of the world, Paul McCarthy's giant butt plug in Paris was untethered to its cables by vandals, forcing officials to deflate it so it wouldn't be damaged further.

The piece by McCarthy, an accomplished 69-year-old Los Angeles artist, caused a surprising furor in free-thinking Paris for the short time it stood erect in the Place Vendome, steps from a Ritz-Carlton hotel. McCarthy was slapped by an infuriated man, and that was before a mob of people cut the cables to the inflatable artwork.

Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo decried the vigilante actions, while art officials promised the giant sex toy would rise again. Read more here.